the Seventh Fall
by chibi-doll
Summary: Fall seven times. Rise eight. -Japanese proverb. My first songfic. Just what happened with Ken in episode five? Kinda angsty, I guess.


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DISCLAIMER: Chibi-doll: *nudges Ran* Now, baka!

Ran: *holds up sign reading "Weiss Kreuz does not belong to Chibi-doll* 

Omi: *pouts* How come HE got to hold the sign?

Youji: Cuz he's a man of few words. *lights cigarette*

Ken: *glares* I have a few words for YOU right now, Youji!

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: The lyrics are from that wonderful U2 song, "Where the Streets Have No Name," from the "Philadelphia" soundtrack. All lyrics are in italics and are located between quotes. If it's in italics and between backslashes, that means it's a thought. If it's in italics, but not between quotes OR backslashes, that means I'm retarded.

Part One

"I want to run 

I want to hide 

I want to tear down the walls 

That hold me inside 

I want to reach out 

And touch the flame 

Where the streets have no name" 

He didn't know where he was headed. Truth be told, he didn't much care. He'd simply felt an innate need to leave, to flee, to escape those dark shadows and be where life wasn't so predetermined. Where he could at least pretend to have control of his fate. Where the sky wasn't dragged down by thrusting skyscrapers and the air wasn't filled with frantic noise. Where his life... wasn't.

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/If you can even call it a life.../

Problem was, there was too much to get away from... and some things cannot be escaped. Some things follow right along side you, keeping pace no matter where you run or where you turn. Some things attach themselves to your very soul, growing there like fungus, feeding off all your failed dreams, your denied desires, and most especially your failures. 

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/The trick is to not dream... to not feel. Sheer starvation./

But danger lay even there, for the soul thrives off of dreams as well...

He gunned the engine on the roaring motorcycle, feeling it surge with power beneath his tense frame. The faster he left Tokyo behind, the better. And who knows? The answer could lie just around the next bend.

Suddenly another motorcycle appeared in his line of vision, a female frame bent low over the handlebars. He felt his already tight muscles become even more tense as he realized his sanctuary wasn't quite so solitary as he'd anticipated. Seeing that red-clad rider, that person, that _intruder _who seemed more concerned with enjoying the scenery than escaping her inner demons, kindled a flare of anger in the core of his body. He knew he should slow down, lest he startle her and cause her to crash, but rebellion brewed in his mind. 

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/No matter where I go, someone else will always be there. There will always be someone more important than myself. /

He passed the rider in a flash. The road was his once more. For a brief moment, he savored the sensation of being free, of flying past his responsibilities and fears. Yet we cannot leave some things behind us... they will always catch up.

He was shocked to hear the woman rev her motorcycle and zip by him, challenge written in the stance of her body. He could practically hear her laughter, her denial of his solitude ringing through his thoughts. She was forcing him to admit her presence, crying out that she was not just one more bit of scenery at the road's side. She was _alive_.

His hands had wrought enough death.

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/If it's a race she wants.../

He increased speed until he and the woman were neck in neck, racing along side one another under the blazing sun. They kept pace perfectly, neither one surpassing the other, both reveling in sheer catharsis. 

They approached a sharp curve with great rapidity, recklessly refusing to lessen their velocity. The road beyond the jutting cliffside was undetermined, might not even exist, but neither were aware of anything sans the feeling of the world as it sped beneath their bodies. 

The appearance of the semi shattered the fragile balance.

Desperately, he jerked his handlebars to the side, hoping against hope that the truck would avoid hitting the other rider. As his bike slammed into the guardrail and he plummeted down the steep slope, all he could see in his mind's eye was the woman's frame lying bleeding on the pavement, forever stilled in the shadow of the mountain... yet another death marring his soul. As his fall finally came to an end, he lay still, uncertain whether he wanted to open his eyes. Unsure of what he would see. Perhaps even... afraid.

Then he heard her voice.

"Are you alright?!"

Part One, Fin

Chibi-doll: *sobs* My half-hour study break is officially over. That means I'll have to complete this later... pray I don't lose the train of thought!


End file.
